Chapter 21: Into the Lion's Den
"LADY HARRIBEL!" Shouted Apacchi, careening through the hallway toward the Tercera's room.
Almost as soon as her Fraccion shouted, Harribel shot out of her door. "What is it?"
"Someone is approaching Las Noches."
Harribel's expression turned grave. "Is it one of Baraggan's men?"
"We don't think so. None of the Tres Bestias recognized him as one of Baraggan's soldiers, but it's not impossible for him to have contacted Baraggan before we sent our scouts out."
"Describe this Arrancar."
"Male. Black hair, dark eyes. He has long chains dragging behind him. He wears Arrancar white, but keeps the front of his jacket open. He doesn't look like anything special, but appearances can be deceiving."
"Watch him carefully, but don't approach him. He could be a recruit for our cause, or simply a curious hollow."
`Not long after, Hugo Orellana approached the castle. He forced the doors open and walked right in.
"I'm under strict orders not to attack you," the Sexta Espada said, leaning against the wall. "But I may change my mind, depending on how you respond. Who are you? Do you work for Baraggan."
Deciding it wasn't worth it, Hugo just started walking through Las Noches.
"Hey! My superior is talking to you!" Shouted Severiano Fuente, the Arrancar who was watching the door with Grimmjow. "I expect you to respond!"
Ignoring him, Hugo kept walking.
Severiano grabbed his wrist. "He asked you a question. Answer it."
Hugo stopped walking, but didn't turn to him. "Tell me where the leader of this establishment is."
"Answer the question first."
"My name is Hugo. I don't work for anyone, nor do I know anyone named Baraggan. Satisfied?"
He let go of him, then told him where Harribel likely was.
But Hugo didn't make it far. Harribel was waiting for him at the very end of the hallway.
"Are you the leader here?"
"I am."
"I'm going to cut right to the chase..." He yawned. "Can I..." He yawned again. "Borrow a bed?"
"... Pardon?" She expected him to ask to join her cause.
"If you have more than three people here, I assume that there are beds. So can I have one?"
"A bed..."
"Yes. Can I have one?"
"I... suppose... the living quarters are in a hallway off to the right, the second door on the left."
"Cool."
Hugo went to said room, and grabbed a bed. He began to drag it out, but he slammed into the doorway. He mumbled a curse word to himself, and then flipped it sideways, which made the mattress fall off.
He unlocked the chain attached to his left wrist, and he wrapped it around the bed and mattress, then with his right chain he wrapped it around the chain he had around the bed.
Hugo noisily dragged the bed across the hall, and came to the corner, where Harribel still stood. He thought of the best way to leave the room, so he just kept walking, putting a massive scrap on the wall in the process.
"Hey, asshole! Who do you think will have to fix that! And who do you think are you, asking for a bed?" Grimmjow snarled.
Hugo belched again, then left.
"You gotta respect the shear amount of balls on that guy." Servanio said. "His spirit energy is the level of a Fraccion, yet he unflinchingly went into the den of the enemy, spoke to three powerful opponents without a shred of fear, and took a bed..."
Alone, Nel walked up to the resident healer, Roka Paramia.
"Hello, Nelliel. How may I be of service to you?"
"I..." She clenched her tiny fists. "I want to become stronger."
A look of sadness crossed her face. "I'm sorry, but I cannot help you, Nelliel. I am a healer, not someone who can train you."
"I... can temporarily take my adult form. I want to be able to take that form indefinitely."
"Why? Aren't you perfectly fine the way you are?"
"I... can't be satisfied with people risking their lives while I sit around doing nothing!" She shouted, tears filling her eyes. "I... have to do something. I can heal a little bit, but I can't compare to you. So... I'll have to fight! Please, Roka! I need your help!"
"I'll do my best." Roka said. "But I can't promise a good end result."
"Thank you!" Nel shouted, tackling her with a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
She smiled at the former Espada. "If all goes well... you'll become Espada-level once again!"
Notes: Sorry for not posting this chapter last week. That was my bad. I forgot to because I'm a dumbass, I guess.